When two eighteen-year-old girls go missing on their gap year in Thailand, their families are thrust into the international spotlight: desperate, bereft and frantic with worry.
Journalist Kate Waters always does everything she can to be first to the story, first with the exclusive, first to discover the truth – and this time is no exception. But she can’t help but think of her own son, who she hasn’t seen in two years since he left home to go traveling. This time it’s personal.
And as the case of the missing girls unfolds, they will all find that even this far away, danger can lie closer to home than you might think . . .
I'm looking forward to getting back into thrillers this year. Last year was remarkably light in the thriller department so I'm making a point to place some focus back on thrillers.
I became a fan of Fiona Barton after reading the first book in the Kate Waters series (The Widow). It was one of those compulsive reads I couldn't put down so I was really looking forward to reading The Suspect.
The Suspect is the third book in the Kate Waters series, but each of these books can stand alone without having read the others. I missed out on reading book two, and my experience with The Suspect did not suffer at all. (I do still plan to read The Child, though!)
The Suspect is about an investigation into what happened to two girls who went missing while on vacation in Thailand. The story shifts between Kate and the parents' current point of view and the girls' past point of view before they went missing. I found these shifts very easy to follow, and I loved how Fiona Barton crafted her reveals and the timeline of the story.
The focus of The Suspect was understandably on the events that took place prior to the girls going missing and the steps being taken to find them and solve what happened. For me, this took away a lot of focus from character development. My reactions to events in books are directly tied to how deeply I care for the characters. The Suspect was an entertaining and quick read, but it's not one that will stick with me beyond the experience of reading it.
If you enjoyed Fiona Barton's previous releases, you are sure to enjoy The Suspect as well. If you like to focus on crimes and the events surrounding them, this is probably an excellent choice for you. There were some surprising moments in The Suspect. I just would have liked to have a deeper understanding of the characters.
⭐⭐⭐★★
Review copy provided by publisher
I love a good thriller. I'll have to check both this book, and this author, out. :)
ReplyDeleteI've never read this author, but I do love character development as well, so I'm not sure this will work that well for me.
ReplyDeleteI've been meaning to check this out! I hope to snag it from my local library :) Great review!
ReplyDeleteErica | Erica Robyn Reads